The Rick Steeves Walk in Vancouver by Whistlerborn

Where to start?

The Rick Steeves reference may require some explanation. He’s a travel writer from the age of paper travel books. An explorer who has cross-crossed Europe uncovering secret courtyards, ancient passageways and historically significant neighbourhoods in the world’s most famous cities. From the catacombs under Paris to a hidden mews in London, he can show you something you didn’t know about a city you’ve been to a hundred times. For me, it was his audio tour on the Vaporetto in Venice that made me truly appreciate his talent. Essentially a public bus system cutting through the whole of that famous city, the Vaporetto is a waterborne open top coach that will take you from the city plaza and library at one end of Venice to St. Mark’s Square at the other. His instructions are for you to start the audio as you leave each station which times his description of everything you see from the famous Rialto bridge teeming with tourists to an unknown fruit market a few steps away from one of the stops on the right/South side of the river/canal(?). You can hop on and off to see each site or double back at the end to whatever catches your interest. It is an exceptional way to see a city with so much history, all of it connected to the water that defines Venice.

So, if Rick were to craft a walk in Vancouver, where would he start?

If this walk is in downtown, the iconic Woodward’s building is where I would start. Marked with a giant W atop a building that once was an enormous department store I remember going to with my Mum to get back to school gear when I was kid.

“Skip to the Walk” [link at the top like Skip to the Recipe]]

Starting under the W of the Woodward’s building you are right next to Tacofino, my first choice for street food and the best Margherita in the city.

Walk West along Cordova to Granville. Then up and over the walking bridge that takes you to the north side where you can see the address for 200 Granville Street.

Slip around the right side of the building and stand in awe of the view as it reveals the Five Sails of Canada Place in the foreground, and the North Shore mountains behind.

With that view permanently captured in your mind, or digitally on IG, walk back to Cordova and right (West) past to the Lion’s Pub where you are in a unique spot.

From that location you have an excellent view of the East and West Lions. Two distinctive mountaintop spires that dominate the skyline if you can see them behind Grouse Mountain. They make for a spectacular day hike from the city if you drive to Lion’s Bay, but they are only visible from certain places in downtown Vancouver. Most of the time they are hidden behind the North Shore mountains. I have climbed the West Lion before and I love the fact that the online description of that hike includes the sobering warning that an accident on the upper reaches could prove fatal. Hiker beware.

After a pint at the Lion’s pub, continue West to the marinas. Cole Harbour Marina to be exact. Past Riley’s Fish + Steak. An urban Oyster Bar with a commanding view of the suspended globe in the lobby of the Vancouver Convention Centre. Another worthwhile site. Drop a pin on your Google map here to return for dinner.

If you cut through between the buildings to the street right in front of the Pan Pacific Hotel you get a little urban secret garden on the way. Turning right at the globe keeps you close to the sea.

Choose the wheelchair ramp and glance down to your right at the metal salmon suspended in the glass ceiling of the concourse below. The salt breeze unmistakable, you might even see a cruise ship at dock. Or even an eBike gliding by in silence. Vancouver’s bikepaths weave their way throughout the city, mostly away from traffic and in such a thoughtful way that my second walking tour of Vancouver will be on wheels instead shoes…

Stop at the giant blue raindrop and let the view sink in for a beat. At this point you will start thinking – I should have rollerblades here, or at least a bike.

Leave the raindrop and walk West to one of my favourite corners. A left turn, this perch allows you to look down over Harbour Air’s fleet of float planes, docked and waiting to take passengers, or just about to take off, carrying people to almost anywhere on the BC coast.

At the right time of day you will see the float planes taking off and landing regularly. And in the summer it is an active place to be as rowers ply the water while pleasurecraft cruise in and out completing another memorable Vancouver view with the North Shore mountains rising behind.

Pro tip – from this location you can fly down to the waters beside the Seahawks Stadium in Seattle, watch the game on a Sunday, or for Monday Night Football, stay one night and return to downtown Vancouver in time for work the next day. One of the most civilized things to do in Vancouver, and second only to a Boatride from this same location to Smitty’s Oyster House in Gibson’s on a warm summer evening. With boat parking literally right in front of the restaurant, and a location easily reachable from the city centre, a dinner at Smitty’s by boat is something very special.

Looming over your left shoulder and behind you is the Shaw Tower where Jimmy Pattison had an office on the top floor when it was first built. The helicopter on the roof allowed that local billionaire to hop directly from his office to join his yacht out near WestVan after the crew had left the dock and spent the two hours getting that vessel and all its passengers out to sea. I remember retelling this to a buddy visiting from Switzerland while we stood on a beach in WestVan. As I was describing what Jimmy was able to do, we were watching a large yacht with a helipad on the stern drift past silently in front of us.  At that moment we heard a small whirlybird in the distance that flew into view low across the water and landed on that ship right before our eyes.What a moment that was.

Put the Shaw Tower behind you by turning right and moving across a brilliant stretch of waterfront leading right up to the door of The Lift Bar & Grill on Menchions Mews. A cocktail anywhere at the Lift is recommended. From the waterside perch off the bar on the main floor to the umbrella covered rooftop tables, you can’t go wrong here.

If you stick with this route far enough you are rewarded with an historical encounter at the Westin Bayshore. Howard Hughes’ choice of northern outpost when he used to fly up from LA.  He even lived on the top two floors of that very hotel for a number of months in the 1970’s, staying just out of reach from the taxman. For Howard, Vancouver and this hotel allowed him to land a plane and pull up to a nice hotel for a getaway or a long stay. An adventurer, Howard Hughes regularly flew his own planes all over the world.  The result of a fortune made in oil drilling equipment, spent on aviation, making movies and making even more money. 

One could imagine Hughes the great aviator hopping around Howe Sound, Whistler and all points up the coast of BC in his own floatplanes.  And if he could come as far as LA to Van, his range would have extend to the Island and beyond. I wonder if he ever made it to Alaska(?)  

Keep exploring

Whistlerborn